Saved by Fate (and Pure Dumb Luck)
by magalena
Summary: While on the hunt for rare and unusual books for her shop, Hermione stumbles upon someone who has been missing from the wizarding world for five years. Can the stranger really be Lucius Malfoy? The answer is yes, and her life will never be the same. This story was written for the 2014 Lucius Big Bang Fest on LJ.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Hermione pulled the last two boxes closer so she could have a look-see at their contents. She was quite happy that two of the five previous lots had given good results to her quest. She had high hopes that one of these last two would yield the mother lode.

Hermione was searching for inventory to add to her business. A year earlier she'd left her job at the Ministry after years of beating her head against a brick wall and getting nowhere. Unsure at the time of what she was going to do—her departure had been somewhat hasty and very loud with much screaming and swearing on her part—she'd moped about for a month or so, not doing much of anything at all. Then one day she noticed, just down the street and around a corner from the Leaky Cauldron, an empty storefront with a 'for sale' sign. While standing outside the doorway, staring inside, she'd clearly envisioned it filled with shelves of books with little tables scattered around where customers could read or have a bit of tea, or just sit and visit.

Without taking time to give it too much thought—because she knew she'd probably talk herself out of it if she did—within a matter of days she'd invested her entire life savings and become a business owner. Top Shelf Books. From that point on it was sink or swim. Now, after a full year in business, her little bookshop was still afloat and doing quite well.

The downstairs level was just as she'd pictured it on that day, standing outside staring in: a bright, airy space where people came to read and mingle. It bustled with a variety of activities to bring customers into her store: story time for children, afternoon teas with poetry readings, regular meet and greets with authors for book signings, cookbook authors sometimes hosted cooking classes, and she had some regular do-it-your-selfers willing to give demonstrations of projects. It was a busy, thriving place.

Still, Hermione had decided early on that she needed some kind of niche as well, something to set her store apart from the norm. Upstairs was her real baby. The Nook was where she collected and restored rare and unusual second hand books. Where, unknown to her regular patrons, a good portion of her rare book clientele came to her store from directly down the street via the back of the Leaky Cauldron, the shadowy pub that no Muggles ever noticed or entered.

She sometimes took requests to find specific books, but more often, like today, she just went on an all out treasure hunt. She haunted auctions and estate sales looking for old and forgotten books. Hermione had many feelers out and was lucky enough to have got inside information on this sale at an estate outside Caerphilly in Wales. Plus her informant—oh all right, it was Harry, who now played seeker for the Caerphilly Catapults, and had heard about it from a teammate—had been able to arrange for her to have early access. Well, it wasn't just her, there were about a dozen buyers who'd been allowed in to examine the goods a few days before before the sale. Luckily for her, most of the others hadn't been too interested in the older books.

Hermione knew something she was quite certain the other early birds didn't. She'd done her research and knew that although the Astin estate was currently owned by Muggles, there was wizard blood several generations back. Not that it would have mattered at all to the other buyers, who were looking for typical Muggle antiques and collectibles, but it mattered to her because she was in hopes that she would find some rare magical tomes squirreled away. She hadn't bothered to search the vast library space yet, although she would—just in case. But she knew from past experience that if there were any magical books to be found they would most likely have been hidden away by past generations who did not want to destroy the books, but also did not want them to fall into Muggle hands. So, that was what had brought her up to the overly warm, dusty attic, sorting through boxes of books that had likely been stored and untouched for the past two hundred years.

Hermione was just getting ready to cast a cooling charm along with an air clearing charm to settle the dust when she heard footsteps coming up the attic stairs. Damn, she'd just have to suck it up. She couldn't use magic around Muggles_. S_he pulled another book out of the box, but as her fingers brushed against a metal corner on the ancient binding she felt a strong ZAP of static electricity causing her to drop it back into the box. A cloud of dust billowed up and she sneezed violently.

"Bless you," said the man who had just entered the attic.

"Thank you," she replied. "It's a bit dusty up here, just to warn you."

"Yes, I'd expected that," he said as he looked around then headed farther back in the open room.

Hermione shivered as she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. The man's voice reminded her of someone, but she couldn't place who. She hadn't got a good look at him when he'd come upstairs, although she did vaguely remember seeing him earlier. He'd come in late, the last to join the group looking for early finds.

She glanced up, but he stood in gloom half way down the attic. He was lifting the dust covers and examining various pieces of furniture, opening drawers and feeling inside and beneath each one, as if he were looking for something specific. It was hard to get a good look at him, until he lifted his head and glanced her way and the sunlight from the smudged window revealed pale silvery grey eyes and that haughty, aristocratic profile. Her heart pounded. _It couldn't be him_. But it was, she was sure of it.

She must have gasped or something because suddenly he looked at her, _really_ looked at her. Within seconds he was striding across the attic and heading down the narrow stairs. Hermione fumbled, dropping another book and causing yet another cloud of dust to poof up into the air. Sneezing violently again, she hurried after him. Even though she rushed down the attic steps, he was already nearly halfway down the long hallway headed for the main staircase as she rushed to catch up with him.

"Mr. Malfoy!" she called. She might have thought she was totally crazy if he hadn't hesitated for just a split second when she'd called his name. "Mr. Malfoy, wait... Stop!" He didn't look at all like the Lucius Malfoy she remembered. There was no flowing platinum blond hair, no expensive wizard's robes, no silver snake-headed cane, but still, she would swear this man was Lucius Malfoy. He was still very attractive. He had short, dark brown hair, and he wore casual Muggle clothes. There was nothing to indicate he was a wizard, but she was quite certain it was him.

After the war trials the entire Malfoy family had been cleared of charges, mainly due to Harry's testimony on behalf of Narcissa, but he'd spoken for Lucius and Draco as well. It had kept them out of Azkaban, but revealing her involvement in saving Harry had most likely led to Narcissa's death. Nearly two years after the war, within a few months after the end of the Malfoy trials, she'd been ambushed and killed by a former Death Eater in retaliation for her actions of that fateful night. Lucius disappeared shortly after that and there had been rumors that he was dead as well, although his body was never found.

Apparently rumors of his death had been greatly exaggerated.

She had to sprint the last several yards, but she caught him before he could get away. "Mr. Malfoy, please, wait," she gasped, trying to catch her breath. She clasped his arm to stop him from escaping down the stairs to the exit.

He looked down at her hand holding his sleeve, then turned to stare at her blankly. "Oh, were you talking to me? I'm terribly sorry. I'm afraid you must have me confused with someone else."

Hermione frowned and her eyes narrowed as she stared at him. The voice was different now even from a few minutes ago, and the eyes were blue instead of grey. In her gut, though, she was sure she was right. He could have easily cast a quick glamour to change his eye color, and charmed his voice to erase the aristocratic accent, but he hadn't had time to thoroughly alter his looks. It was him, she was sure of it.

"I'm not mistaken. I know who you are, Lucius." At his blank look she continued, "You are Lucius Malfoy, a very powerful pureblood. You have an estate in Wiltshire where your son, Draco, still lives. You have been missing for nearly five years."

He smiled, as though trying to humor the crazy woman. He carefully tried to extricate himself from her grip. "I _am_ sorry, but you are quite wrong. My name is Luke Buonafede. I do not live anywhere near Wiltshire and never have. Now if you will kindly release my arm, I'll be on my way."

"Oh, please. Is that the best you could come up with?" Hermione sneered.

"I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"Buonafede? Is that some play on the reverse of Malfoy?"

He jerked his arm out of her grasp, his face twisted in anger. "See here, young woman, I have no idea what you are talking about. I have never heard of this person... this Malfoy. I am not him." He started edging down the stairs, slowly, one step at a time, keeping his eyes on her as he went.

Hermione stepped back, suddenly unsure. She spoke quietly, almost to herself. "Maybe he really can't remember. Maybe he's been O..." She paused for a moment before coming to a decision. "He needs to know... he deserves to know."

* * *

><p>The man's brow furrowed at her mumbled words and when she turned, head down, to walk slowly back toward the attic, his eyes followed her.<p>

Hermione looked up and down the hallway, making sure she was alone before she hurried up the attic steps. She took a minute to concentrate before she raised her wand. "_Expecto Patronum_!" Her otter Patronus swirled into being, playfully gliding through the air doing circles and loop-de-loops around her. "Settle down and pay attention, I need you to take a message to..."

Before she could finish her request, strong arms grabbed her from behind. One hand covered her mouth stopping her words and the other confiscated her wand. "Miss Granger, stop. Do not do this." His arms shifted downward, one wrapping around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. The one over her mouth slid to her throat, not choking her, but holding her firmly, her head pressed back to his shoulder as his thumb stroked lightly at her pulse point. "_Finite Incantatum,_" he said softly. His breath brushed across her skin like a whisper and she shivered in response. Her Patronus faded into thin air, looking comically disappointed at not being allowed to complete her request.

Hermione gasped and struggled against him. "Shh... I've no intention of hurting you," he muttered quietly, his lips right next to her ear.

As his breath whispered against her skin Hermione shuddered and groaned aloud, a wanton sound in the stillness of the attic. She squirmed to escape his embrace and only managed to grind against him as he attempted to hold her still.

"Stop, you're not helping matters," he muttered. His cock grew hard through no fault of his own. He'd long ago stopped apologizing for the horny little bastard. It was a fact of life, if a lovely young witch was going to moan and groan and rub up against him, little Lu was going to get as hard as granite. It didn't help matters that his reaction to the pretty Muggleborn was unlike any other since he'd first fallen for Cissy.

Angrily, she jerked away, her face bright red with embarrassment. She spun to face her captor. "You _were_ lying, you arse! You do fucking know who you are and who I am as well. And I'd started to feel sorry for you, thinking someone had Obliviated you. Give me back my wand, you slimy Slytherin bastard!"

She reached out to snatch it back, but Lucius held it out of her reach. She was such a wild little thing, her fire pleased him. "Tsk, tsk. Let's forgo the name calling, shall we? I can assure you my birth was entirely legitimate." Lucius held her off with his other hand. "Don't get your knickers in a twist, my dear, I do intend to return your wand. Though first I want you to calm down so I know you aren't going to hex me, and then I want to know who you were planning on sending that message to. It would do you no good to call the Aurors. There are no charges pending against me, you know."

Hermione took three steps back, distancing herself from him, but that didn't stop her from giving him a 'death glare'. "I am calm," she said between gritted teeth. "Please give me back my wand."

Lucius had to work hard not to smirk at her. She was damn cute in all her righteous indignation. "Very well, I'm trusting you now," he said cautiously.

Using his wand hand he presented her wand formally, as at the end of a duel. Gripping it delicately at the quillion, he laid it across the back of his other wrist, the handle facing her, offering it with a slight nod of his head.

Still giving him a ferocious glare, Hermione pursed her lips like she'd tasted something sour and nodded back. She accepted her wand, and gave him a polite 'salute' by tapping it to her forehead and followed that with an intricate flourish and a small bow.

"I must say, I am impressed, Miss Granger. I had not expected you to be trained in the formalities of dueling," said Lucius.

"I'm sure there are many things about me of which you are unaware, Mr. Malfoy," she said curtly.

"Indeed. Now, in answer to my earlier question, who were you planning to call? The Aurors? The Minister of Magic? Harry Potter? "

Hermione hesitated briefly but then answered, "No, of course not, none of those. If you must know, I was going to contact your son."

"Draco?" Lucius asked, shocked. "Why on earth would you want to contact Draco?"

"Because, believe it or not, he's my friend and I think he has a right to know that the father he has mourned is not dead at all."

Lucius shook his head, a grim expression in his eyes. "You are wrong, Miss Granger. My son does not mourn me. Quite the opposite, in fact. I have it on good authority that he's very happy I am gone."

She looked as though she wanted to hex him or slap him, possibly both. She swallowed once before she spoke, her voice low and a bit gravelly. "I assure you, I am not wrong, Mr. Malfoy. Draco does mourn you grievously and he blames himself for your loss. He searched for you for years before deciding you surely must be dead, because if you were alive, why would you not contact him? Why would you not let your only child know that you were alive and well and obviously just living some other man's life, without a care for your past or your son?"

Her voice broke and she covered her mouth with her hand, but not before a little half sob escaped. "How could you do that to him?" The urge to slap him won out and she did. Her hand flashed out and smacked him hard across his cheek. "You're despicable!" she cried.

Damn, she was fast, and she hit hard too. Maybe she wasn't so cute after all. Lucius pressed one hand against his stinging cheek, but still managed to grab her with his other hand and drag her to him, their bodies intimately close. Hermione stared up at him, sparks practically flying from her eyes, her face flushed, her breath coming fast. Then again, maybe she was—more than cute actually. She was damned attractive. He wasn't sure what came over him, but he was sure it must be little Lu's doing. In the next instant he found himself leaning down, his lips a scant inch away from hers when...

"Errrm... excuse me? Hello... is everything all right up there? Miss Granger?" A timid voice came up the stairs.

Hermione gasped as though she'd been holding her breath. "It's Mr. Linton," she whispered. "The man in charge of the early sales."

She managed to disengage herself from Lucius' grasp and in a louder voice she called down. "Yes, Mr. Linton, everything's fine. I've found some boxes of books I'm interested in. Could you send up a couple of your helpers to carry them down for me? Then we can discuss price."

The man had cautiously edged partway up the stairs. "Very well, Miss. I'll send someone right up." He eyed Lucius suspiciously. "Are you sure you're okay, Miss Granger? I'd be happy to escort you down, if you like."

"Everything is fine, sir. I would just like to sort through this last box and then I'll come down."

With a nod and an angry glare at Lucius, Mr. Linton hurried back down the stairs.

Hermione sank down onto the stool she'd been sitting on and pulled the last box of books closer. Lucius stood staring down at her, his arms crossed. After a couple of awkward moments of silence she looked up at him.

"I am sorry for losing my temper and slapping you. I haven't indulged in smacking an arrogant Malfoy since my third year at Hogwarts. I shouldn't have hit you, but I'm not apologizing for anything I said. It was all true."

Lucius continued to look at her intently for a bit then sighed. "Miss Granger... Hermione... please give me a chance to explain. Not here. Let us go somewhere and talk, privately. Please... at least talk to me before you contact Draco. Give me a chance first."

Hermione hesitated for a moment, considering, then nodded. "On the main road there's a little pub at the edge of town, I'll meet you there in an hour. I need some time to wrap up my business here and arrange to have the boxes sent back to my shop."

Lucius frowned. "I had hoped for somewhere a bit more private than a pub. I'm letting a cottage near Ogmore Vale, perhaps we could..."

"No, absolutely not," Hermione snapped. "The pub is as private as I am willing to risk with you at this point. For all I know you'd get me to this cottage and Obliviate me, or worse."

"All right, I'll be at the pub in one hour." He knew it was the best he could hope for, and a smart choice on her part to consider her own safety. As for what he wanted to do to her, an Obliviate was probably the least of her worries.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sweet Helga Hufflepuff, what had she been thinking? She'd agreed to meet Lucius Malfoy. Lucius-Fucking-Malfoy! Who knew what he might try? Still, it was true, there weren't any charges against him, so there was no reason to call the Aurors or anyone in authority really. She could ask Harry to go with her, just for safety; but she had a feeling if she showed up with Harry at her side she wouldn't be seeing Lucius around anywhere. If that happened she would never learn the truth and she couldn't help Draco.

Odd to think that the boy who had been her childhood nemesis had become one of her closest friends. They'd both worked at the Ministry after the war, in the same department. After the first two years there, they'd been forced to share an office. When you worked in such close quarters everyday, you either got to be good friends or bitter enemies. They'd both agreed they'd already done the enemy thing and friends made for a better working environment, especially since they were both charter members of the society of mutual dislike of their sanctimonious boss, Percy Weasley.

She'd been around during the nightmare of his mum's murder and his father's disappearance and she knew the guilt Draco felt now. He'd been angry at his mum's senseless death, after everything they'd managed to survive. He'd taken that anger out on his dad, blaming him for his involvement in the first place. Angry, vicious words had been exchanged and after that Lucius had disappeared, never to return. Eventually Draco had had time to reconsider the situation and blamed himself for his father's disappearance. He'd spent the following years tracking down every lead he could find no matter how tiny, but he'd never found a trace.

Hermione knew in the past year or so Draco had pretty much given up hope of Lucius still being alive. The guilt was eating him up. She couldn't let him live with that misery when she knew it wasn't true, but what good would it do to tell him she'd found his father if Lucius wasn't willing to come home and talk to him? No, she'd have to meet Lucius and see what he had to say. She'd try to convince him that Draco needed him. Plus, if she were being completely honest with herself, curiosity played a big part in her decision to meet him. She had felt a strong physical attraction to the man that she couldn't understand. A spark like she'd never felt before. She wanted to see him again to find out if it had been a fluke.

She hurried into the pub and looked around anxiously. She was ten minutes late and was worried that Lucius would think she'd stood him up. If he'd left, she had no way to find him and no proof even that he really was still alive. She spotted him sitting in a shadowed corner and relieved, she smiled warmly and hurried over to join him.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Mr. Linton just wouldn't let me out of there. He kept talking and talking. You know, I actually think he might have been trying to chat me up."

Lucius seemed to eye her appreciatively, his gaze making a slow suggestive slide down her body before making its way back up to her eyes. "Yes, I'll bet you get a lot of that."

Hermione felt a blush rise to her cheeks. What on earth did he mean by that? It wasn't as if she were some sort of femme fatale. Was he teasing? Or perhaps he was just making fun of her. "Well, no, not hardly. Besides, he really isn't my type."

"Oh, and what exactly is your type, Hermione. Is it Draco, perhaps?" he asked, his voice low. His eyes slid to hers as his fingers idly played with his drink, twisting the glass in quarter turns.

"Draco?" she said, surprised at the very idea. "Why, no, of course not. Draco and I are friends. Good friends, yes, but that's all. You do know that we worked together for a lot of years, so of course we've spent a lot of time together."

Lucius frowned. "I actually didn't know that. Although now that you've mentioned it, I do recall him saying, early on, that you two worked in the same department. So who is your type? Obviously not the unimpressive Mr. Linton. Not Draco—Mr. Potter, perhaps? Or the youngest Weasley pup?"

"No, Harry and Ron are just good friends, too. I'm not sure a have a _type_, per se. And what difference would it make to you, Mr. Malfoy?" she asked, frustrated by the direction of the conversation.

"None at all, really. Just making small talk, getting to know you. I really would like to get to know you better, my dear. And it's Lucius, please."

"What?"

"You called me Lucius earlier today, Hermione."

Hearing him use her given name again sent shivers down her spine. The way he said it sounded so personal—so intimate.

"I believe I prefer it. When you call me Mr. Malfoy it makes me feel like you're putting me in the same stuffy category as Mr. Linton, somewhere I'd rather not be."

"Very well, _Lucius_, but I didn't come here to talk about me. You said you would explain..."

Before Hermione could finish she was interrupted by the waitress. "Would you like another?" Lucius nodded his approval. "And you, Miss? What would you like?"

"What is that you're having?" asked Hermione. Without waiting for an answer, she lifted Lucius' glass to her lips and took a sip. "Umm... spiced mead. That _is_ very good. I'll have the same please."

As the server walked away, Hermione realized what she had done. "I'm so sorry, that was rude of me. I was curious what you were drinking, but I shouldn't have just grabbed your glass. It's something I'd have done with one of my friends. I just wasn't thinking."

Lucius retrieved his glass from her hand, his fingers brushing hers. He turned it deliberately and drank from the same spot her lips had touched. "It's fine, Hermione," he said softly, setting the empty glass back down. "I don't mind a bit. Just to warn you, though, being added to your list of friends is the last thing on my mind right now."

Hermione flushed with embarrassment. What was the man up to? She'd thought he was making fun of her earlier, then she wondered if he was trying to trick her, and at times she thought he even might be flirting with her. But that was just crazy, why would Lucius Malfoy flirt with her? He wouldn't, she told herself, she was not the kind of woman Lucius Malfoy would be interested in. Surely this weird inexplicable attraction she felt was one-sided. She must be going insane.

An awkward silence fell for several moments until the waitress returned with their order. Hermione fortified herself with a large drink when she realized that Lucius had asked her a question. "Excuse me? I'm afraid I wasn't paying attention."

He smiled indulgently. "I was asking you to tell me about your friendship with my son."

"Lucius, really," she objected, setting her glass down with a thump. "The reason I agreed to meet you here was because you said you would explain why you haven't had any contact with said son for the past five years, not to discuss how he and I became friends."

Lucius scooted closer to her and casually rested his arm on the back of her chair. His eyes scanned the room suspiciously and he quietly cast a Muffliato. Even with the spell in place, he leaned in close and spoke softly, his voice very serious now. "I will explain, but first I really do want to hear about my son. You claim to be his friend. You claim that he mourns my absence, that he has searched for me. Yet, I have had reports through the years of the exact opposite. Reports that Draco's feelings are unchanged, that he remains bitter and angry toward me, wants nothing to do with me. I thought by staying out of his life I was doing what he wanted. Someone is lying to me, Hermione. Either you or someone I believed to be a most trustworthy source. So tell me now of my son. Convince me you really are his friend and that this isn't some kind of set-up."

Hermione's brow furrowed and she looked closely at Lucius. She was no Legilimens, but deep down she believed he was telling the truth. "Lucius, why would I lie to you about Draco? I have no reason to. And how could our meeting be a set-up? I had no idea you would be at that estate today. How could I?"

"Believe me, I have learned over the past several years that many situations that seem to be coincidence often are not." He tilted his head back, eyes closed and took a deep breath, letting it out in a heavy sigh he looked at her. "Hermione, please. I _will_ tell you what I promised to. But right now I just need to hear about my son. It's been years and I've... I've missed him. Tell me anything, tell me of him as you know him, how you work together, how you went from school rivals to friends, tell me of his daily life. I just want to hear about him. Please."

She looked at him and made a decision. Trusting this man might be the biggest mistake of her life, but for some reason she decided she would give him what he asked for. She laid her hand gently on his and said, "Very well, Lucius. I'll tell you."

She talked for a long time, telling stories about her work with Draco, both the conflicts and the triumphs and of their shared animosity for their boss. She told him funny stories and anecdotes of daily life. Lucius sometimes asked questions but more often just listened, evidently enjoying having her words paint pictures of his son's life. He burst into laughter at some of her tales and at other sadder stories had to quickly look away, blinking hard to hide his emotions.

Hermione talked so long that her voice became hoarse. When the barmaid informed them the pub was closing, she was surprised so much time had passed. Lucius settled their tab, and they walked outside. Hermione began to panic. "Wait, you can't go. You haven't told me your side and you promised."

"If you're free, I'd be happy to meet you tomorrow. Lunch perhaps?" Lucius offered.

Hermione couldn't believe what she was about to do. This was Lucius Malfoy, the man who had looked down on her because of who she was and who had stood on the other side all through the war that had stolen her childhood. But now he was also her friend's father, a man who had desperately begged for news about his son, a son he obviously still loved. A man who had sat with her publicly, drank with her, talked with her, laughed with her, flirted with her, all uncaring of her blood status. The man she felt an inexplicable attraction to. She truly hoped she didn't come to regret what she was about to suggest.

"You said something earlier about a cottage at Ogmore Vale?" she said.

Lucius looked surprised. "Do you want to meet me there tomorrow?"

Hermione shook her head, pulling him out of sight into the alley next to pub. "No, I want you to take me there. Right now," she said, stepping in close. Taking a chance, she rested her hands gently on his chest as she looked up at him.

His face broke into a smile. Without giving her a chance to change her mind he wrapped his arms around her and drew her snugly to him, her body fitting perfectly against his, much closer than was really necessary for Side-Along Apparition. An instant later they appeared on the doorstep of a cozy little cottage.

Not releasing her, he raised one hand to tilt her face up to him. "I've wanted to do this since back in that dusty attic. In that moment, I would have sworn you could have hexed me with just the look in your eyes."

Without waiting for a reply, his mouth lowered to cover hers. His kiss was gentle at first, a mere touch, as his mouth slid across hers. The tip of his tongue teased at her lips, seeking entrance and when her lips opened slightly for him, suddenly the kiss wasn't gentle anymore. It became a maelstrom, fierce and wild. Hermione's hands rose to bracket his face as she held him to her. Seconds later, his hands cupped her arse as he lifted her up and pressed her back against the door, and somehow her legs had wrapped themselves around his waist. The kisses went on for several minutes before he finally pulled back to look down at her.

"Damn," Hermione heaved a breath and gave her head a little shake.

"Something wrong, my dear?" Lucius asked, a smug little smirk tilting up the corners of his mouth.

"Nooo... It's just that I'd tried to convince myself that this thing between us, this attraction I felt for you wasn't real. I was sure once we'd kissed I would know immediately that it was nothing more than a fantasy, probably spawned by my imagination and an over-active libido."

"And now?" The smirk got even bigger.

"And now, I fear that the truth is, it is real. It's very real..." Hermione hesitated before looking deeply into Lucius' eyes. "... at least on my part it is. I don't understand."

His head dipped to nuzzle her neck. "It's not just you, sweet. I feel it too. I don't understand why either, but it's assuredly real." Lucius took a step back and let her body slide slowly down his, setting her feet down gently. He opened the door and before she could protest, he swung her up into his arms and carried her inside. Kicking the door shut behind them, and throwing up his wards, he proceeded down the hall to his bedroom.

* * *

><p>Lucius was in the midst of a dream that he was surrounded by a persistent batch of Devil's Snare. It wrapped itself around his wrists and hands and twined around his fingers. It was around his neck and some even tried to creep past his lips. He awoke with a couple of vigorous puffs trying to remove the tenacious stuff from his mouth only to realize he wasn't being strangled by a murderous plant, but was surrounded by Hermione Granger's wild and glorious hair. She was spooned back against him, her body warming him, her head tucked against his shoulder in the notch of his neck and her bum pushed tight against a definitely interested Little Lu.<p>

He gently disengaged himself, carefully untangling her hair and scooting back a safe distance. Normally Lucius would gladly indulge Little Lu's demand for another round, but he and Hermione had gone at it like Nifflers in heat at least three times last night. And not two hours earlier he'd taken her again, waking her from a sound sleep to make long, slow, gentle love to her. She was probably exhausted as well as sore.

He propped his head up on his hand and studied her closely as she slept. Lucius had no explanation for the fiery attraction that had sprung up so quickly between them, he only knew it was real and it was intense. Hermione had turned out to be nothing like his expectation of her, which was quiet, bookish and possibly a little shy. Instead she was bookish, yes, obviously since she apparently owned a bookstore now, but also independent, strong, outspoken and aggressively sexy.

He wanted her, he realized with surprise. He knew he probably shouldn't for any number of reasons, but right now he couldn't think of one of them. Despite the difference in their ages and their backgrounds, he was simply unwilling to fight this strange attraction to the girl—woman. In the years since Narcissa had been killed, he'd wanted nothing but revenge for her untimely death, had lived for it, and he'd been much too busy and too focused on his assignment to worry about a having a woman in his life. During all this time, in fact, he'd practically become celibate, much to Little Lu's chagrin. There had been nothing more than the occasional one-off with a stranger to relieve his body's hunger and his cock's demands. But something about _this_ woman called to him. Lucius was shocked to discover that he didn't want this to end. He didn't want her to walk away. He didn't want to go back to the cold solitary existence that had been his daily life for the past five years.

Being careful not to wake Hermione, he slid back and got up from the bed, smiling as she rolled over closer to where he'd just been and wrapped her arms around his pillow, hugging it close to her body. He pulled the blanket over her and tucked her in carefully to keep her warm as he bent to brush a kiss on the top of her head. He felt a tightness in his chest at the realization that she was a cuddler; it made him want to pull the covers back and crawl in and snuggle up tightly to her for the rest of the day. Cissy hadn't liked to cuddle at all, he recalled. She'd said it made her feel too confined and hot and sweaty and Narcissa Malfoy did not sweat. Somehow he didn't think Hermione Granger would mind at all. He decided to proceed to the kitchen before he let himself get carried away. He would fix a nice breakfast for her to wake up to. No longer the pampered pureblood, he'd learned by necessity to see to his own needs and had turned out to be quite a good cook in the process.

* * *

><p>Hermione felt Lucius brush a kiss atop her head, seconds later she heard the door shut as he left the room. She knew she probably should get up, but she was so tired after their exertions of last night she decided she deserved to nap for just a bit longer. She woke with a start awhile later to the smell of breakfast cooking, accompanied by loud voices coming from somewhere in the house.<p>

She couldn't make out what was being said but Lucius was obviously having a violent disagreement about something with someone. A cold feeling ran down her spine as she realized that something about the tone and cadence of that other voice gave her an ominous feeling. They both sounded very angry. When she heard the sound of hexes being thrown Hermione leapt from bed, threw on the shirt she'd ripped off Lucius the night before, grabbed her wand, and rushed out of the room and down the hallway.

Finding no one in the lounge, she proceeded to the kitchen where she froze in shock, her mouth agape. Learning that Lucius was alive after assuming him to be dead was one thing, but she'd _seen _Severus Snape die with her own two eyes. Yet, here he stood before her, swearing like a sailor and exchanging hexes with Lucius as if it were an every-day occurrence. Perhaps it was, knowing the two of them. Hermione simply didn't know what to make of coming face to face with dead men dueling. Good Godric, it sounded like some kind of bizarre Muggle reality show.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jumping between the two men, she shouted, "Stop! What in Hades is going on here?"

"Hermione, no!" "Granger, you idiot!" Both shouts came at the same time as their hexes flew.

Hermione ducked and spun to avoid Lucius' spell. She ended up diving to the floor while casting a nonverbal Protego to shield herself from Snape's hex. "What the fuck! What is wrong with you two?" she screeched, looking up to see them both staring down at her, lying on her back in the middle of the

kitchen floor. Lucius' shirt, which had previously covered her modestly to mid thigh, was now tangled up around her hips. With a leer, Severus eyed her appreciatively.

"Severus, for Merlin's sake, quit ogling her. Have you no manners?" snarled Lucius. He stepped between them, shielding Hermione from Severus' gaze and offered her his hand. He helped her to her feet, tugged the shirt down over her, and pulled her protectively to his side. "Hermione, sweetheart, are you all right?"

"Sweetheart?" Severus growled. "You can't be serious."

"He most certainly can be," snapped Hermione, wrapping an arm around Lucius' waist and leaning into him."Not that it's any business of yours."

"Err... Hermione, I never got a chance to talk to you last night about what I've been doing for the last five years. Severus is my boss—of a sort. I suppose it is possible that it might be his business who I'm confiding in."

"Damn it all to hell, Lucius, you know it's all confidential information. You aren't supposed to be confiding it to anyone at all. You're not allowed to muck up my operation by blabbing all you know to any random chit you happen to fall into bed with."

"I resent that," Hermione huffed indignantly. "I am hardly some random chit." She stopped to consider, then continued hesitantly, "Am I, Lucius?" She couldn't keep the insecurity out of her voice. Hermione was a strong, confident woman in all things except for those dealing with matters of the heart. Her choices in male companionship had not been good ones thus far in her life, and the impossible to resist attraction to Lucius aside, she was beginning to think that she had made yet another poor decision.

They had never really discussed there being anything between the two of them aside from last night's hot and wild session of sex. Most likely she was making entirely more of it than it really was and this was just a simple one-off for him. Feeling like a perfect fool, she turned her face away and discreetly tried to pull out of Lucius' embrace.

Lucius was having none of that. He tugged her back to his side, while giving Severus a dirty look. "Of course you're not, sweet. Severus is being daft for even suggesting such a thing."

In spite of his attempts to placate her, Hermione continued to attempt to slip out of his grasp. She wanted to make her escape before she was totally humiliated in front of these two. Lucius' response was to hold onto her even tighter. He turned to Snape and said with a growl, "For the first time in years I find there is something I want more than revenge. Don't ruin this for me, Severus, or I swear that I'm done—done with this assignment, done with you, done with everything."

Snape goggled at him in disbelief. "Surely, you don't mean that. We're so close to the end now."

The look on his face nearly made Hermione giggle. She'd never seen her former professor look so totally gobsmacked.

"I do, indeed," said Lucius.

Now that Hermione had stopped trying to pull away from him, Lucius wrapped both arms around her possessively. He pulled her against him, her back snuggled tightly to his chest as he nuzzled his chin against the top of her head. "You know Hermione better than most, Severus. You must realize that she would not compromise this operation. In fact, I dare to say that her input might be helpful."

"Lucius, you know that decision it not mine to make," grumbled Severus.

"I say that's a bunch of Ministry bullshit, Severus. You try to make it look like the MLE is pulling the strings on this operation, but I know that you answer to no one but Shacklebolt."

Hermione stiffened, glancing up at Lucius then over to her former professor. "You're working for the Ministry, both of you? And Kingsley sanctioned this?" It was Hermione's turn to look flabbergasted. Staring at Severus she blurted, "Good lord, you're Agent Black, aren't you? Obsidian Black. There have been rumors flying around the Ministry and the MLE about you for years. Your feats are legend."

Severus rolled his eyes. "That ridiculous name..." he muttered.

"You know about Severus' alter-ego? No one is supposed to know his identity," said Lucius.

"Oh, the rumors never identify him as Severus Snape. Everyone still believes him to be dead," Hermione explained. "But there are dozens of wild stories about the mysterious Mr. Black, there have been for years, even before I left the Ministry. His name always comes up whenever another hidden Death Eater is discovered and brought in. There was some speculation that he might be a former Death Eater himself. In fact, Lucius, after your disappearance your name came up quite often as a possibility."

"Me? Really? How droll," Lucius responded with a smirk. "And to think that all of my hard work throughout the years has been attributed to the mysterious Agent Black."

"So you two have been working together—undercover—so to speak, for all this time?" Hermione marveled. "To bring former Death Eaters in. For revenge you said, Lucius, so this was to avenge Narcissa's murder. But why wouldn't you tell Draco?" Suddenly her eyes narrowed as something occurred to her. "Wait a minute. I went to Kingsley and asked him point blank whether there was any truth to those rumors about you being involved. I asked him for the complete truth, and he told me not to pursue it. He said that I could trust him and that it was best for all just to let it go. That miserable bloody bastard pretended to be my friend and lied straight to my face! I'm going to hex his sorry arse to hell and back next time I see him, that fucking son of a..."

"Language, Granger," snapped Snape.

"Oh, don't stop her, Severus. I rather like it when she talks rough," murmured Lucius with a smirk, pushing her hair over her shoulder so that he could kiss and nuzzle her neck.

Hermione blushed at Lucius' antics but didn't attempt to put a stop to his actions. In fact, she tilted her head to the side to give him better access.

"Oh, for Slytherin's sake," grumbled Severus. "Stop, both of you. You're acting like a couple of randy sixth years. We have much more serious things to deal with."

Lucius straightened and suddenly was glaring daggers at his supposed friend. "Yes, Severus. I'd say we do. Such as why during all this time, for _years_ in fact, whenever I've asked after Draco, you have told me nothing had changed and he still reviled me and wanted nothing to do with me. Yet Hermione informs me that my son has been trying desperately to find me all this time. Tell me about that, Severus."

Severus swallowed and actually had the grace to look guilty. "Lucius, I swear it wasn't my idea to keep the truth from you. I did want to tell you, but I couldn't. Kingsley insisted upon keeping both you and Draco in the dark. He thought you'd leave the mission if you reconciled with Draco."

"Kingsley Shacklebolt is not my friend, Severus, You are. Or at least I thought so, perhaps I was wrong."

"You weren't wrong, I am your friend, Lucius. But due to circumstances beyond my control, I couldn't tell you the truth." Severus rubbed the fingers of one hand across his forehead, as if trying to soothe away an ache.

"Couldn't? Or simply wanted to keep me dangling at your beck and call all these years behind the scenes doing all the dirty work."

"I _couldn't_."

Hermione watched this exchange, her attention bouncing back and forth as if she were at a Muggle tennis match. She noticed the deepening expression of pain on Snape's face. "Professor, were you coerced? Was there an Unbreakable Vow taken?"

Lucius' eyes widened. "Please tell me that you weren't stupid enough to get yourself tangled up in something like that again, Severus."

"Seeing as how it was Narcissa who involved me in that mess the last time, you have little room to judge my intelligence," Severus snapped. "And the answer is no, I did not take an Unbreakable Vow... Not exactly."

"Something else then," guessed Hermione. "Something similar, but not as drastic perhaps."

Severus pursed his lips but did not reply.

"That's it, then, isn't it?" said Lucius. "After the war, in exchange for keeping the secret that you'd survived, and thus keeping you out of Azkaban, Shacklebolt forced you to do his bidding. To make sure you didn't reveal this, he made you take some sort of vow of silence about the whole..."

Taking note of Severus' discomfort, Hermione slapped her hand over Lucius mouth, shushing him. "Lucius, stop. Can't you see your supposition on the matter is causing him pain? Don't address your theories to him out loud. I think it's triggered a Geis."

Severus gritted his teeth as a bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face. He gave a slight nod of affirmation as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Hermione observed him closely for a moment. "The symptoms seem to be like a migraine."

Again he nodded briefly and said with a grimace, "Yes, but ultimately the pain becomes many times worse. All in all, it has proven to be quite an adequate deterrent to breaking the Vow."

Lucius frowned. "What does that mean, migraine?"

"Migraine is a Muggle term for extremely debilitating headaches," Hermione explained. "They can cause excruciating pain. Sometimes they are so bad that the person becomes physically ill, or hyper sensitive to light or sound. My mum used to get them." She pulled out a chair from the table. "Sit here, Professor. Do you trust me enough to let me try something? It's a Muggle method, but it used to help my mum."

"At this point, I'm willing to try anything," he muttered, sinking into the chair. "Once the pain starts it progressively worsens, no magical treatment can touch it. In the past I've simply had to let the episodes run their course."

"All right then, let's try this. Lucius, can you find my handbag? I think I either dropped it inside the front door last night, or it's in the pile of clothes scattered around your bedroom. I have some paracetamol, it's an over the counter Muggle pain reliever. Probably not the best treatment for a migraine, but sometimes if you can break the cycle in the beginning it helps."

Lucius disappeared returned a moment later to hand Hermione her bag. She summoned the bottle of pills from the depths and gave several of them to Severus with a glass of water. "Lucius, dim the lights in here please, love, and get me some cold compresses."

He did as she asked. By the time he returned, Hermione was situated behind Severus, gently massaging his temples and scalp. She took the cool compresses and draped one across the back of his neck and had him hold one to his forehead, bracing his elbow on the table as she continued her massage. "Now, one more thing if you don't mind. Do you have any coffee? A strong black tea will do if you don't. Just one cup though, I've read that caffeine can enhance the effectiveness of analgesics by forty percent while increasing the body's ability to absorb medication. But we don't want to give him too much or it can cause a rebound effect."

"Still quoting the source material word for word, Miss Granger? I'd have thought you would have learned to think for yourself by now," her patient muttered sarcastically.

Leaning close she whispered, "I'm just trying to help you, professor. If you disapprove of my methods I can stop at any time." Lucius snorted at her blunt response to Severus' snarkiness and her refusal to be cowed by him and Hermione gave him a wink in response.

She quit massaging and Severus immediately groaned. "No, don't stop. It actually does seem to be helping," he admitted grudgingly. When she didn't resume, he glanced up to see her looking down at him questioningly. With a sigh, he said, "Forgive my gruffness and accept my apologies, Miss Granger. Please do continue your ministrations."

"Very well, but I insist from now on, you call me by my given name. When you call me Miss Granger I feel like I'm still your student and I'm far removed from that," she said, handing him the cup of coffee that Lucius produced.

He sipped it as she began to gently knead his neck and shoulders. When he'd finished his coffee she set the cup aside and transfigured a napkin into a small pillow which she placed on the table in front of him. "Lean forward, rest your head on the pillow, and try to relax. Sometimes muscle tension exacerbates the migraine symptoms."

He merely grunted and laid his head on the pillow, draping his arms on the table above his head.

As Hermione continued to work the tightness from Severus' muscles, Lucius returned to finishing their breakfast which had been under a warming charm since Severus' untimely arrival. Hermione watched with interest. She'd never imagined Lucius Malfoy doing something so mundane as fixing his own breakfast, and hers as well. Obviously he'd been living differently for the past five years from the pampered pureblood she remembered.

* * *

><p>Lucius plated the food and turned to find Hermione staring at him contemplatively. "What are you thinking about now, woman?"<p>

She smiled at him, rather shyly. "I'm thinking that you are not the man I thought you were. You are totally different from the Lucius Malfoy I recall from my past."

"Time and events tend to change people." he replied quietly. "The lessons learned during two horrific incarnations of the Dark Lord, in addition to the events that occurred during the ensuing years, have proven to me that most beliefs ingrained during my youth were nothing but total hogwash. I would hope, my dear, after last night, you would realize that I'm not the same man I used to be."

Before she could respond, a gentle snore rose from Snape. Hermione had to smother a giggle. "I think he's relaxed now. Hopefully when he wakes the migraine will have subsided. Do you think we should try to move him somewhere more comfortable?"

"No," said Lucius. Taking a clean kitchen towel from the drawer, he transfigured it into a blanket to lay over his friend. "Believe me, he's slept in far worse positions. Besides, moving him might wake him up and undo all of your good deeds. Let him rest here and we'll take our breakfast into the lounge. I believe I promised you some explanations. Although you already have the gist of it, I will give you the details."

Over the course of the next couple of hours, he did just that. Despite Severus' directive of confidentiality, he went into detail, holding nothing back. He told Hermione about his volatile argument with Draco and how he had met up with Snape afterward, which he'd believed at the time to be mere coincidence. He now had his doubts about that. He'd already known about Severus' survival, having been one of the people responsible for removing him from the Shrieking Shack. He hadn't known until then, however, that his friend was working undercover for the Minister of Magic hunting down Death Eaters in hiding. Of course when he'd learned of it Lucius had decided immediately to join the cause, believing he'd found the perfect way to avenge his wife's death.

Hermione looked thoughtful. "You must have loved Narcissa a great deal to devote so many years to the cause, cutting yourself off from your life... from your son. You must have known that if Draco knew your motivation for staying away, that you were doing it for his mother, he would have forgiven you. Hell, he probably would have joined you."

"Perhaps that is why I was so willing to believe Severus' lies about Draco. In reality maybe I wanted him to stay safe, away from all this." Lucius paused to look at Hermione, then slid closer to her as he bent his head and kissed her softly. Pulling her up to sit on his lap, he wrapped his arms around her and held her snugly. "And in response to your first statement, yes, I did love Cissy. We grew up together, our families were friends. I think she loved me from the time we were children, but it took me longer to figure it out, typical dense male that I am. I spent my years at Hogwarts and afterward sowing my wild oats, and mostly ignoring her. Then one day, after I'd left school and she was in her final year, I saw her at a party. It suddenly hit me that she was the one. She'd been there all along and I'd been too blind to see it. From that moment on there was never another witch for me but her."

A brief flash of hurt crossed Hermione's face as she dropped her gaze from his. Lucius tipped her head back to look into her eyes. "Until now."

Hermione gasped. "What are you saying?"

"I can't explain it. When I first touched you in that attic something came over me. You were so wild, so fiery, so intensely angry in your defense of Draco. Then later when you slapped me, I wanted to throw you down and fuck you blind, yet at the same time I wanted to make love to you and keep you safe and with me forever. I just can't describe how it felt. I've never felt anything like it aside from that one moment with Cissy, many years ago. It was like a bolt from the blue."

Hermione pulled back to look at him closely, then slid from his lap and quickly took several steps back. "A bolt from the blue! That's exactly how it felt for me too. I'd never been attracted to you like that before. Oh, of course I thought you were an attractive man, in a 'he's evil, and I hate him, so I would never want him' kind of way. But I was never truly attracted to you until that instant when you grabbed me and sent my Patronus away. When you held me in your arms and whispered you weren't going to hurt me, it was like a feeling of want, of need, of pure lust just washed over me. Like a bolt from the blue!"

She began to pace and then a horrified look crossed her face as she turned to face him. "My goddess, what if what we feel isn't real at all? What if it's the result of some kind of Compulsion Charm, or what if there was some sort of Dark artifact that activated itself, or a Lust Curse from one of the magical books in those boxes, or... or..."

"Sweetheart, stop," he said, reaching for her. "It's not any of those things."

She jerked out of his reach, her arms wrapped defensively around her. She backed into the corner and stared at him, blinking hard to keep the tears at bay. "You don't know that," she whispered. "I've felt attraction before, nothing like this though. I've had sex, lots of sex, but it was never like what we shared. Never. I thought this was real—I want it to be real. Oh, Lucius, what if it's all a lie?" Her expression crumpled as she sobbed and buried her face in her hands.

He lurched forward and gathered her into his arms. "It is real, Hermione. I swear to you it is."

"Oh for fuck's sake, I think I just vomited in my mouth a bit. The bloody melodrama in here is so thick I could cut it with a fucking butter knife, and a dull one at that," Severus commented acidly from the kitchen doorway. "Don't you two idiots think the very first thing I would have done upon finding you so disgustingly and uncharacteristically wrapped up in each other is to check for curses or charms?"

"Sweet Salazar, thank gods," muttered Lucius gratefully.

"But... how can you be sure?" Hermione asked as her gaze flew to Severus' face.

His stony glare answered her. "You doubt my ability?"

"No, of course not. It's just—it makes no sense. We're so different. We've nothing in common. Why would we suddenly be struck by overwhelming feelings like this? "

"Are you?" he asked pointedly.

She looked at him in confusion. "I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"Are you really so very different then? I see two people whom I think I know well enough to judge," Severus replied. "Both very powerful magical beings, extremely intelligent, complex personalities, clever, curious, annoyingly organized, bookish, arrogant—one more so than the other, but still... driven to succeed, opinionated, much too brash and bold for your own good, perceived by most to be gregarious and outgoing but in actuality both rather sensitive and introverted." He eyed them both pointedly. "Hmm... yes. I can certainly see that you have absolutely nothing in common."

"Still, I don't see how any of that accounts for the sudden attraction between us," argued Hermione stubbornly.

"I don't have an answer for that, Miss Grang... excuse me, I'm supposed to call you Hermione now, aren't I? That will take some getting used to. Perhaps just Granger will do for now. I can't pinpoint why any two people are attracted to one another. Do you need a review of sex ed 101?"

"No. No, of course not." Hermione blushed.

"Very well then." Severus eyed her tear-stained face. "Go freshen up, Granger, and for Merlin's sake, put on some real clothes. While the image you paint dressed in nothing but Lucius' shirt is provocative, to say the least, it is also a bit too distracting. Hurry up and when you come back I'll debrief you both, since I'm sure that in spite of my advice to the contrary, Lucius has probably already leaked every bit of confidential information to you about this case. I might as well take advantage of it and make some use of you rather than Obliviate you as I should." Turning to Lucius he added, "As I tried to explain to you when I first arrived, it seems we may have reached the end of our project, my friend. We think we have identified the last major player we have been seeking."

As Hermione hurried from the room, Lucius turned to Severus and spoke quietly. "You know, all of those things that you claim she and I have in common, except possibly one—I'm sure no one would ever perceive you to be gregarious and outgoing—could just as easily have applied to the two of you."

Black eyes glared at him. "And your point is...?"

Lucius shook his head and released a heavy sigh. "The three of us were together for a long time. We were good together, but Cissy's gone. The time has finally come to move on. Perhaps I can find that again with someone else; maybe we both could if you would pull your head out of your arse. In any case, I meant what I said earlier. I've lived the past five years with only one goal in mind: to avenge her death. According to you, we are nearing completion of our project, but knowing that doesn't bring me the closure I'd expected. It doesn't bring me peace, or satisfaction, or make me feel alive. Hermione does. If it comes down to a making a choice between the assignment or her, I'll walk away from it all without a second thought." With that Lucius turned and headed down the hallway where Hermione had disappeared to moments earlier.

Severus' right eyebrow raised as he observed Lucius leave. "Good to know, old friend. Good to know," he muttered to himself. Then he swore when, instead of calling Hermione from the room, Lucius entered and locked the door behind him with a resounding click. Severus sat down to wait. He had a feeling he'd be waiting awhile once those two got started.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"NO! No, no no... Absolutely not!" objected Lucius, his voiced raised in ire.

"Lucius, be reasonable," soothed Hermione.

"You were the one who leaked every bloody thing to her and suggested we bring her into the midst of it all," Severus pointed out.

"Input!" shouted Lucius. "I suggested you use her input. I meant her intelligence, her reasoning skills, her logic. I certainly never meant for you to drop her into the middle of the operation to be used as... as... as bait!"

In an attempt to calm him, Hermione ran her hand gently up and down his arm. "I want to help."

''She wants to help," parroted Severus.

"Damn it all to the ninth level of hell, I will not have it, Severus. I won't allow you to use her like this." Lucius pushed Hermione behind him protectively as he gave Severus a threatening glare.

Indignant, Hermione clawed her way back out from behind him. Hands on her hips she faced him, fire flashing in her eyes. "Allow? You won't _allow_ it? You do not own me Lucius Malfoy. I am not a possession. I am a living, breathing, thinking woman. You don't get to make decisions for me. If I choose to do this, there is nothing you can do to stop me."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Severus lowered his head and made a low groaning noise in his throat.

Lucius turned Hermione toward him, trying to explain. "Sweetheart, it's not like that. Of course you aren't a possession, but I don't want you hurt. This is dangerous business."

"And do you think I've never dealt with danger before? Is your memory that short? Do you think I'm some prissy miss who needs to coddled and locked away for her own good? Because if that's your opinion of me then you'd better rethink it right now, mister."

The last seven words were each emphasized with a hard poke of her index finger into Lucius' sternum, causing him to step back and rub at his now sore chest. He was sure there would be a bruise there tomorrow. "Hermione, please try to understand how I feel. This could be the very man who murdered Narcissa. I couldn't bear it if you became his victim as well."

"Oh, Lucius, don't be ridiculous, that's not going to happen, not with you and Severus both there." Seeing the doubt in his eyes, she leaned in to brush a kiss on his cheek, then she pulled back to look up into his eyes. "This is important to you... to both of you," she added glancing at Severus. "It's important to me too, because of that. But it's not just that, these people need to be stopped. We thought the battle was over when we defeated Voldemort..." Both men winced at her easy use of the Dark Lord's name. "... that we'd won. But we haven't, not if the core of his followers continue on. We need to finish this once and for all."

Lucius made a growling noise as he pulled her to him, embracing her tightly. "You aren't going to give way on this, are you?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, I'm not. My mind is made up."

He pushed her away to shake her lightly, his hands clasped on her upper arms. "Gods be damned, woman... Alright, we'll do it. But I swear to Salazar if anything happens to you..."

"It won't," she assured him. Turning to Severus she asked, "What's the plan?"

* * *

><p>The next three days flew by in a flurry of activity and preparation.<p>

According to Severus' sources, the auction at the Astin estate was key. The Ministry believed that some kind of magical artifact was hidden there that their target was desperate to get his hands on. This was why Lucius had been sent in the first place, to try to locate it prior to the auction. Unfortunately his encounter with Hermione had cut short his search.

They speculated as to what it might be. Lucius actually felt a little ill when Hermione voiced her fear that it might be an undiscovered Horcrux of Voldemort's. Severus looked uneasy at the thought as well, but told them that the Unspeakables had already considered and discarded that theory. Their belief was that the leader of the group planned to use the artifact in a bid to gain power. Whatever it turned out to be, it was important that they get to it first.

Hermione initiated contact with Mr. Linton in an attempt to gain access to the mansion again before the auction. The man remained annoyingly steadfast that he couldn't allow her in again, claiming it would be unfair to the other buyers and might jeopardize his job. After several long involved telephone conversations, Hermione agreed to meet him for drinks at the pub.

There, after a very long evening of working hard to evade Linton's wandering hands and lewd suggestions, they finally came to an agreement. Hermione would have dinner with him after the auction (subtle hints of more intimate activities to follow were included), and he would allow her access two hours before the general public was admitted. He'd then added, however, that he would have to grant the same offer to the other early buyers too. He evidently expected her to object, but in fact this played right into Hermione's plan, as it would allow Lucius access as well. She simply smiled and then, in a flash of inspiration, fabricated an influential buyer who was interested in accompanying her. She pointed out, pouting prettily, that since he wasn't really giving her any special consideration by letting her in with all the other early buyers, he should allow her to bring her anonymous benefactor as compensation. Linton was irritated, but in the end agreed.

Severus could now come with her in one of the many disguises he used for his Obsidian Black persona. He had become rather a master of disguise as he preferred not to rely on polyjuice due to its tendency to wear off at the most inappropriate times.

The three of them spent the night before the auction reviewing the plans for the following day.

Lucius couldn't help but notice his friend's uneasiness. Severus paced constantly as he doggedly drilled them both, but especially Hermione, over and over on her role. He seemed more agitated than Lucius could recall since the final days of the Dark Lord's reign. Observing surreptitiously, Lucius noticed Severus had, more than once, glanced at Hermione worriedly. Did he think she couldn't handle the assignment? Was there something else going on? Did Severus know something he wasn't telling them? Severus' unease was rubbing off on Lucius and he was just about to confront him when Severus announced they were done for the night.

"I have some things of my own I need to take care of tonight. I will meet you here in the morning before we leave for the Astin estate," said Severus. Donning his cloak, he started for the door.

"Goodnight, Severus," called Hermione.

He hesitated at the door, his hand on the knob. Lucius thought he would leave without responding, but instead he turned and gazed seriously at Hermione. "Granger... Remember this, you must be on your guard at all times. History has proven that even monarchs have at times betrayed their own followers in order to achieve their ends, whatever the cost. Trust no one. I mean that, Hermione. Do you understand me? No one."

Hermione stared at him for a moment before her eyes widened in comprehension. She nodded slowly. "I think I do understand, Severus. It's rather like another cunning despot I once knew, who believed that serving the greater good permitted him to employ any means at his disposal to reach the end result, no matter who was hurt in the process. Don't worry about me, I've been well trained by the best in constant vigilance."

He whirled about and closed the door silently behind him, disappearing into the night.

Hermione shivered as a blast of cold air swept through the room and Lucius put his arm around her drawing her close. "What did he mean by that?"

"I'm not positive, but I believe the comment about monarchs was a reference to Kingsley. I think he was trying to tell us something without triggering the Vow. I think he might have been trying to say that Kingsley is using us to achieve his own ends, and perhaps, is even willing to sacrifice us to get what he wants."

Hermione wrapped him in a hug and held on to him tightly for a minute. "I can't think about all this anymore tonight. I'm exhausted, let's go get some rest," she said as she tugged him toward the bedroom.

Lucius made slow tender love to Hermione and held her close until she fell asleep. Sleep eluded him though, as he lay beside her staring up at the ceiling. Something about Severus' words niggled at the back of his brain. Just as he started to drift off a horrifying thought popped into his head and he bolted upright.

Hermione started and murmured, "What's wrong?"

"Shh... nothing... a dream. Go back to sleep, love. I'm going to the loo."

He waited cautiously for a moment as she rolled over and snuggled back down. When he was sure she was asleep, he headed to the lounge and knelt before the Floo.

* * *

><p>Lucius stood outside the door of the Astin Estate. Severus and Hermione had left the cottage about ten minutes earlier and should be inside by now. He pushed the door open and stood for a moment longer than necessary as he muttered, "You know what you have to do." He prayed that he was wrong in his suspicions as he entered the house.<p>

Lucius wandered from room to room, quietly casting Revealing Spells designed to identify Dark Artifacts. He'd been searching for close to an hour and thus far he'd found nothing and the minutes were ticking by much too quickly. He was about to head down the hallway leading to the rear of the house when he saw Linton directing Hermione and Severus to the first floor library. Deciding to follow them, he headed up the stairs.

"If you and your client are interested in items similar to what you found in the attic, Miss Granger, all of the stored boxes have now been moved to the library."

"Thank you, Mr. Linton. This is exactly the sort of thing that Mr. Raven is looking for," replied Hermione. Looping Severus' arm in hers, she led him to the boxes stacked on the library tables.

Linton's gaze followed her and Lucius was surprised to see pure hatred shining in his eyes. Not exactly the sort of look a man gives a woman he's planning to bed later.

Linton noticed him and immediately his mask fell into place. He greeted him with a false smile."Mr. Buonafede, I'm so glad you could join us again. Let me direct you to some articles downstairs I'm sure you'll be interested in."

"Thank you, Linton, but I believe I've spotted a couple of things in here I'd like to check out first." Lucius began to wander nonchalantly around the room, examining various items. He needed to talk to Severus. "I could use a distraction, just about now," he mumbled to himself.

A moment later he heard Linton swear under his breath before sneezing loudly. "How did that bloody cat get in here?" he shouted.

Lucius turned to see the cat in question dash into the adjoining room. "Perhaps it belongs to the owners," he offered.

"The owners are not living here; the house is empty. That cat does not belong here, and I am terribly allergic," Linton complained as he sneezed again and went in pursuit of the animal.

Lucius edged close enough to Severus and Hermione to speak quietly while pretending to look at some bric-a-brac in the cabinet behind them. "I haven't found any magical artifacts at all, much less any Dark ones. Are your sources sure it is here?"

Severus turned and took the ugly little elephant figurine from Lucius' hand, pretending to examine it closely. "They seemed sure it was here somewhere, just not what it was exactly. I'm beginning to believe that Linton is not just an innocent Muggle being duped. I think he's involved; maybe with the proper persuasion he will reveal the ringleader."

"He is not what he seems, I can tell you that much," Lucius replied, keeping his voice low. "When I entered the room he was staring at Hermione with such hatred I'm surprised her hair didn't burst into flames."

Lucius turned to smile at Hermione but there was no one there. "Fuck! Where in hell did she go? She was right here a few seconds ago."

Severus looked around the room, then stepped to the doorway and checked in the hallway. "No one out here."

Lucius walked to the next room where Linton had gone after the cat, but it was empty too. "Not here either but it leads on to a couple more rooms. Perhaps she followed Linton."

"Damn stubborn little witch. I specifically told her to remain in the presence of at least one of us at all times," ranted Severus. He turned on Lucius, "And you! You swore you'd choose her over the mission. I expected you to take her and run last night. I was sure you'd be gone when I arrived at the cottage this morning. Why didn't you run, Lucius?"

Lucius grimaced. "I'm a Slytherin. I've always dealt with Slytherins. It hadn't occurred to me I was dealing with a Gryffindor. You heard her, she wouldn't have run no matter what I said."

Severus snorted. "Well, you can always count on Gryffs to bugger up a well laid plan," he muttered.

Lucius studied his oldest friend closely. "Severus, Hermione interpreted your warning last night as a reference to Kingsley. But it occurred to me that Kings are not the only monarchs... Princes are too. Tell me the truth now. Have you betrayed us, my friend?"

Severus slumped and shook his head. "Not in the way you are thinking. But when she learns the truth, I am sure she will perceive it as a betrayal of the worst kind," he stated cryptically.

Just then they heard shouts and hexes being cast. Both men drew their wands and ran through the series of rooms bursting into the hallway at the end. There near the top of the stairway to the next level, Linton held Hermione in front of him as a shield while throwing hexes at two unknown wizards at the bottom of the steps. With a final blasting hex, Linton disappeared down a corridor, dragging Hermione with him.

Severus ran forward. "Halt! I am Agent Black from the Department of Mysteries, identify yourselves."

Both men turned to stare at Severus. Neither one was anyone he recognized.

"Oi, brother. Obsidian Black is really Snape. He's not dead. You owe me ten galleons."

"He doesn't look like Snape," replied the other, skeptically.

"Yeah, well we don't look like us either. He's in disguise, you idiot. If that wasn't Snape's voice, I'll eat one of my own skiving snackboxes."

"Weasley!" Severus exclaimed. "Even worse, two Weasleys. Why are you here?"

"Never mind them," said Lucius. "We need to get to Hermione."

"And that's Malfoy," one of them said.

"Yeah, and he's not dead either."

"And in disguise too. I feel like I'm at a bloody masquerade or something."

"Shut up!" shouted Lucius. "We need to find Hermione!"

"Hermione's alright. She knows how to take care of herself," offered one of the Weasleys.

"ARRGGHH!" screamed Lucius as he finally lost patience, pushed them aside, and raced up the stairs.

"He's a lil' high strung isn't he?"

"Never mind. You can explain what you're doing here later. Come along if you're going to help," said Severus as he followed Lucius up the stairs.

The trail was easy enough to follow as it was obvious Hermione hadn't gone quietly. Things were knocked over all along the way, chairs and tables tipped over, pictures askew, rugs dragged out of place. "That's my girl, don't make it easy for the bastard," murmured Lucius.

He slowed at the end of the corridor and peeked around just in time to see Linton heading up the very attic stairs where Lucius had discovered Hermione just a few days earlier. He considered trying to Apparate into the attic ahead of him but was unsure if there were wards in place to prevent such an action. He had a back-up plan in place and he was going to have count on it working.

Just as Lucius reached the base of the attic stairs Severus and Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum joined him. The Polyjuice had worn off and they were now revealed as the youngest Weasley, Ron, and his

brother, the joke shop owner, George.

Lucius whispered a brief explanation of the situation and received in return a report from the two Weasleys that the rest of Linton's gang had already been rounded up downstairs. He started up the narrow stairs but had made it only halfway before a slicing curse barely missed the top of his head.

"Lu... Luke!" cried Hermione, remembering his alias at the last moment.

"Linton, you can't get out." Lucius called. "Your accomplices have all been taken into custody. Let Miss Granger go and take us to the ringleader of your group, and the Ministry might go easy on you."

Linton cackled madly. "You still don't get it, you stupid arse. I am the head of this group and have been for the past seven years."

Lucius pushed a shielding spell out in front of him and eased a few steps closer. "Who are you really?"

he asked his eyes glued to Linton's face.

The man's eyes widened in disbelief as he finally got a good look at Lucius' face. "Well, fuck me sideways. Lucius Malfoy. Why did I not see it before? You were hiding right in plain sight and I didn't even recognize you, old friend."

"You were never my friend, Macnair," sneered Lucius coldly, recognizing the voice of the executioner.

Severus appeared beside Lucius, still in disguise. "I represent the Ministry of Magic. Let Miss Granger go. If you tell us what the artifact is you were trying to find here, it might be taken into consideration when your case comes before the Wizengamot."

"Artifact? Now what are you goin' on about? I don't know anything about any artifact." Macnair actually looked confused; he appeared to genuinely have no idea what Severus was talking about.

"Our information is that you were seeking something here at this estate, an object or treasure that would lead you to great power."

Macnair's arm tightened around Hermione's throat. He laughed out loud. "I got the treasure I was looking for right here for all the fucking good it did me. Malfoy here got to her before me, so I couldn't take advantage of the plan."

Lucius was now the one who looked confused. "What are you talking about Macnair?"

"Granger, here. She was the treasure. My key to power. I sent her up here knowing she'd be going through those boxes of books and whoops! just so happens one of them books was conveniently covered by a Compulsion Charm. ZAP! Granger triggers the charm, then I show up as Linton, as soon as I touch her, the charm gets coded to me and she's all mine. Hermione Granger, the wizarding world's golden girl. She would have become besotted with me and could have got me get anything I wanted, even to be named Minister of Magic in the next election. She had the influence to do it too. A silent coup. The Ministry taken over from the inside out. But you went and ruined it, Malfoy, by wandering up here before me. The charm locked onto you instead, didn't it? I'll bet you've enjoyed yourself for the last few days, 'ey old man?" he said with a lascivious grin and a wink.

Hermione's eyes got huge and she shook her head. "No, that's not true. That's not true at all." She struggled against her captor but he jammed his wand against her throat and she froze.

"By Merlin's mercy, end this now!" ordered Lucius.

"_Expelliarmus! Incarcerus!" _The spells flew at the same time from two different directions. Harry Potter appeared from under his invisibility cloak and Minerva McGonagall came out from the shadows transfigured from her Animagus form.

"Potter! Minerva!" exclaimed Severus in shock. He turned to Lucius. "What are they doing here?"

"Potter's here at my request," Lucius said sharply. "After realizing your cryptic warning had more than one possible interpretation, I decided to hedge my bets and call in help, someone whose sole concern was Hermione and not this bloody mission. Potter arranged for the others, I had no idea who he was bringing."

Harry pulled Hermione away from Linton/Macnair, but her focus was on Severus.

"It isn't true. Tell him, Severus."

"Severus!" gasped Macnair from his bonds. "You're supposed to be dead too."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Macnair," responded Severus, dropping his glamour.

Hermione ignored the exchange, her attention still focused entirely on Severus. "Tell him, Severus," she repeated, her voice shaking. "There was no charm, no curse, no Dark Magic, you said so yourself."

"Oh, but there was girlie. I checked the book myself afterward. The charm was triggered, that's for damn sure," said Macnair with a laugh.

"Tell him, Severus" she insisted. "Tell them what you told us. You said there were no charms involved."

The others in the attic watched in silence as the drama was enacted before them.

"Tell them, Severus," she pleaded.

"I didn't say that!" he practically shouted. "Think, Granger. Use that fucking memory you're so famous for and think about what I really said."

"Hermione, don't do this," begged Lucius. "None of this matters."

Ignoring him she closed her eyes and pictured the scene in her mind. Her voice quavered as she whispered the words that flashed through her head, "You said: _'Don't you two idiots think the very first thing I would have done upon finding you so disgustingly and uncharacteristically wrapped up in each other is to check for curses or charms?'_" She opened her eyes and stared blankly at Severus. "But you never actually said that you did check, did you? And when I asked you if you were sure... You didn't say you were. You challenged me instead, asking me if I doubted your ability."

Her eyes shifted to Lucius. "It wasn't real," she said dully.

"Sweetheart, don't. It was real. It is."

"No. It wasn't." She turned back to Severus. "Why? Why lie to us?"

"I didn't lie," he said not meeting her eyes. "You just said so yourself. I never actually said I'd checked."

"It's a fucking lie by omission, Severus," she snapped, "and I want to know why. Lucius is your friend... I thought that... I helped you when you were in pain... I liked you... I thought I was your friend too... I wanted you to... Why would you do this? Look at me, damn you, and tell me why!"

His black eyes snapped up to meet hers. For a moment he looked as if he would break, but then he swallowed hard and spoke. His words were cold and clinical. "You were upset when you thought your feelings might be magically induced. I was sure you were going to leave and I couldn't let that happen. From what Lucius had told me before you dashed in to break us up that morning, I'd figured out that Linton wanted you. You were the key to unraveling it all, and I needed you to stay."

Hermione tore her eyes away to look at Lucius then back at Severus. A single tear slid down her cheek. "Did Lucius k...know? Was he part of your pl...plan?"

Severus' eyes flew wide when he realized what she was asking. "NO! Gods, no. He had no idea. He was just as thoroughly besotted as you were."

"Stop saying that," demanded Lucius. "It wasn't a charm. I know what I felt and it was bloody well real."

Ignoring Lucius' outburst, Severus continued, his voice softer now. "Granger... Hermione, please try to understand. For years we've been tracking this group, taking them out one by one. We were so close to finishing it. I didn't want you hurt, truly, but I couldn't just let you walk away. What real harm could it do to keep you and Lucius together for a few extra days? It was important."

"Important," she whispered. "Oh, I understand, Severus. I do. I think we had this conversation last night, about sacrificing the little people for the greater good, completing the mission whatever the cost. About hurting others with your lies and manipulations. I must say, you've become quite good at manipulation, Severus, but then we all know you learned from the very best."

Macnair laughed harshly. "Aww... Poor little Mudblood slut," he taunted. "Did you really think yourself in love with a Malfoy? Or that he'd fallen madly in love with a pitiful creature like you? Poor sad little whore."

Lucius didn't speak or even stop to think. His fist connected with Macnair's face and he felt the satisfying crunch of bone. He suddenly understood the appeal of using his fists like a Muggle, rather than his wand - in fact, it felt so good that he hit him again and again and once more. Before he could land number five the Weasleys both grabbed him and pulled him off.

"Can't say as I blame you, mate," Ron said. "But if you keep it up, he's going to be dead. Never thought I'd be saying this, but I'd hate to see you end up in Azkaban, and it'd be hard to plead self defense what with him all wrapped up in ropes."

Lucius struggled for a moment, consumed with fury, until he realized that Hermione had stepped between the Weasleys and his target. She took his hand and kissed his bruised knuckles then healed the abrasions with few whispered words and a wave of her wand. She kissed him softly on the mouth then stepped back. Tears now ran freely down her face.

"Hermione, no. Don't go. Don't you dare walk away from us. I'll swear by Merlin, or Zeus, or Christ, or Buddha, or any bloody deity you want me to swear on—what we have is real."

She shook her head sadly. "It's not. We just think it is."

Without another word she spun on her heel and Disapparated.

Lucius clenched his jaw and swallowed hard. He dashed away some stray moisture that seemed to have leaked from his eyes. After a minute he walked over to where Severus stood, looking as if he expected Lucius to pound on him like he had Macnair. Maybe he even hoped that he would. Instead Lucius addressed him directly, his voice as cold as ice. "I told you what would happen if you ruined this for me, Severus. I'm done. Done with you, done with this assignment, done with the Ministry. You were right, I should have taken her and run. I certainly don't need a friend who would betray me like this and there's no way I can ever work with you again."

"Lucius, wait. I know you feel like this now, but it really is the compulsion speaking. Once it wears off, or we find a way to reverse it, you'll realize that this is all for the best."

Lucius looked at Severus as if he were mad. "Have you not heard one bloody word I've said? Do I look stupid? There was no Compulsion Charm on me. For Macnair's plan to work the compulsion could only go one way. For what you suggest to be true, I would have had to trigger it on myself. For the feelings_ I_ have for _her_ to be false, I would have had to have touched the book too. I never touched the blasted book, Severus. Whatever charm that idiot used wasn't what he thought it was. I suspect it was more than likely some sort of true love recognition spell. We were both saved by fate and pure dumb luck that day when the very first person Hermione came in contact with after triggering the charm was actually the one meant for her. Me."

Ignoring the shocked look on the faces around him, he turned to Potter, Minerva and the Weasleys. "Potter, thank you for taking my call for help to protect Hermione seriously. I am in your debt. If I can ever return the favor, don't hesitate to call on me. Minerva, gentlemen, your assistance has been crucial, I thank you very much." He left without another word.

Minerva glanced over to where Severus stood, looking so much like the very first time she'd ever seen him as an eleven year old boy, lost and alone. She walked up to him and simply wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. "Ach, Severus. Following in Albus' footsteps are ye? Have you learned nothing in all this time, my dear boy?"

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Hermione gasped as she looked around, then she began to laugh hysterically. She realized that she'd Apparated without thought, only to land at the spot she'd been the happiest, the cottage on Ogmore Vale. Knowing that she couldn't stay here, she quickly gathered her things and left. She stopped next at her flat in London, but then decided that wouldn't do either.

From Lucius' reaction she knew he would to try to find her, and this was obviously the first place he would look. She just couldn't face him right now. Maybe never. Her romantic track record was bad, really bad, to begin with. Her past was littered with bad boyfriends and poor choices. This had felt so much like the real thing. Even though she'd only been with Lucius a few days, it had all been so intense and so mind blowing that she'd been sure that this time, _this time_, finally she'd found the real thing. To learn so cruelly that it was all the result of a fucking Compulsion Charm, after being assured by a man whom she'd trusted beyond all reason that it wasn't really the case... It was just too much to handle on her own right now. But she couldn't go to Harry, or the Weasley's or Minerva, they had all been witness to her humiliation. Suddenly she knew just where she needed to go first and what she needed to do. She shrunk her newly packed bag and Apparated away.

* * *

><p>Draco felt a shift in the wards and knew someone had arrived. He looked up to see the house-elf in the doorway to his office. "Yes, Ren, what is it?"<p>

"Missy Hermione is being in the foyer, master."

Draco frowned. "Well, have her come in."

The elf looked at him nervously. "Ren, is thinking that something is being wrong. The missy be's crying, sir. She is not moving from the doorway."

He hurried out to the foyer. Hermione stood there her head down, her face hidden by her hair. "Hermione?" he asked, uncertain of her reaction.

She raised her tear-stained face to his with a look of complete and utter misery. "Oh... oh... oh, Draco," she stuttered, then threw herself into his arms and sobbed broken-heartedly.

Without a word, Draco scooped her up and quietly told Ren to take the missy's bag up to the guest suite. He carried her to the library, a place he knew would be soothing for her, where he held her on his lap and let her cry.

Hermione finally got her tears under control and slid off Draco's lap onto the love seat. "I'm really sorry about that," she apologized, taking the hankie he offered to wipe her eyes and blow her nose.

"Not, a problem, love. Merlin knows you've been there for me countless times when I needed a shoulder to cry on," Draco answered. He poured her the tea that Ren had brought during her crying jag and handed her the cup. "Care to explain what that was all about?"

She nodded as she took a sip. "Well, I have good news and bad news."

Draco smiled; they had played this game before. "All right, good news first then."

She swallowed hard and squared her shoulders. "I found your dad."

Elation filled Draco's eyes. "Seriously?"

Hermione nodded.

"Then what's the bad news?"

"I found your dad."

Draco stared at her perplexed for a moment. Then he slumped back in his seat. "Oh, fuck. What's he done now?"

It took some time for Hermione to tell the whole story: Of where his father had been and what he'd been doing. Of Severus being alive and keeping Draco's forgiveness of Lucius a secret, thus accounting for the five-year absence. Finally she explained that as far as her brief involvement with his father, it wasn't really what Lucius had done so much as what had been done to both of them with the Compulsion Charm.

"You and my father? That's hard to imagine."

"I know. Stupid of me to think it could be real. Right?"

Draco was silent for a minute. "No, not stupid at all. Severus was quite right about that, deep down you and father do have a lot of things in common. I can certainly see how he would have fallen and fallen hard for you. Malfoys always do seek the finest things in life, after all. Maybe you should reconsider and talk to him."

Hermione shook her head. "No, he was only attracted to me because of the charm. We need to stay away from each other and give it a chance to fade. I'll start looking for a way to reverse it, but that could be difficult since I don't even know what charm Linton... I mean Macnair used." She set her teacup down and turned to Draco. "I need to leave. I'm sure the first thing Lucius will do is come here to see you. I don't want to be here when he arrives."

"I doubt father will show up so soon. Stay here at least for the night. Tomorrow, I know the perfect place for you to go. It's a villa on the Isle of Capri. We haven't used it in years, it's peaceful and beautiful, it'll a be a good place to pull yourself back together. I'll even be your Secret Keeper."

Hermione was hesitant but eventually she let Draco convince her. He even agreed to take care of the book store while she was gone as he'd already been helping her out from time to time in the Nook. He'd discovered he actually enjoyed restoring rare books.

The next morning Draco side-along'd Hermione to the island and introduced her to the Villa San Malfoy. Hermione, who had been expecting a small forgotten cottage, was overwhelmed by the size and absolute beauty of it. Certainly not on the same scale as Malfoy Manor, but impressive nonetheless. It seemed like the perfect place to recover from a broken heart.

* * *

><p>Lucius spent several days trying to track Hermione down. He'd checked all of the logical places: her flat, her shop, her friends, all with no luck whatsoever. Potter himself was willing to help and admitted that he was worried about her. He suggested a few friends that Lucius hadn't considered like Luna Lovegood, Padma Patil, and Neville Longbottom, but all to no avail. She seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth. Lucius figured that could mean only one thing: the Fidelius Charm had been implemented. Then, in a palm to forehead moment, Lucius realized that there was one particular friend whom he had not even considered.<p>

He arrived at Malfoy Manor, Apparating directly into the entrance, only to find it quiet and empty but for a house-elf, dusting. The elf squealed and attached himself to Lucius' leg. "Master is being home! Master is being home!" he cried in glee, sobbing against Lucius' leg.

Lucius rolled his eyes and patted the little elf awkwardly on the head. "There, there now, Ren. Calm yourself." The little creature finally managed to get himself under control and unlatched from Lucius' leg.

"Where is Master Draco? I need to speak to him."

"Young master is being at work in the nookie."

Lucius frowned. "What work? What is a nookie? I thought Draco still worked at the Ministry."

"Oh, young sir is taking a...a..." The elf considered for a moment. "He has taken a tree away from the Ministry."

Lucius knew that sometimes communicating with house-elves could be a challenge, but at this he was completely stumped. "I don't understand, Ren. He's taken a tree?"

Ren frowned. "Is that not being the right wordsies, sir? Trees has leafs, yes?"

Lucius thought for a moment. "Leaves! Ah, yes! Leaves. So Draco has take a leave from his job at the Ministry. But why?"

"He is being helping Missy Hermione in her library shop, in the nookie. Young master helps the miss repair booksies. He helps her while she is away, staying at the secret place."

Lucius felt a warmth kindle in his chest. He smiled. "Do you know where missy's secret place is, Ren?"

The elf nodded happily. "Oh yes, Master. Ren helps the miss. Ren is bringing her foodsies from the manor and booksies from the library." Suddenly the little elf looked sad, pulling at his ears. "But Ren is not allowed to tell where missy's secret place is, not even to you, master. Especially to you, master Draco says." A tear ran down his cheek, "Ren is sorry master. He will punish himself."

"No," Lucius responded quickly. "There's no need for that. I just needed to know that she is safe. Thank you. I'm going to the Nook to speak with Draco now." Having been to her shop once already, looking for Hermione, Lucius knew just where to go.

Seconds later he arrived at the Leaky Cauldron and strode down the block to Top Shelf Books. Ignoring everyone in the main shop, he opened the door to the Nook and hurried up the stairs, flinging open the door. It bounced back against the wall with a bang as Lucius stepped into the room full of old books. Books on shelves, books on tables, books in boxes, books everywhere.

Draco, sitting at a work table across the room, a book partially dismantled in front of him, looked up. "It's about time you showed up," he said calmly, as if he'd last seen Lucius at lunch rather than five years ago. "I like the new look, by the way."

"Where is Hermione?" asked Lucius bluntly.

"Can't say," Draco responded, just as bluntly.

Lucius observed his son carefully. "Can't, or won't?"

Draco put down the bone folder in his hand and set aside the book he'd been working on. "Can't," he said, folding his hands together in front of him. "But also won't."

"Draco, I don't know what she told you..."

"She told me everything. She believes the feelings you two had for each other are the result of Macnair's Compulsion Charm."

"She's wrong about that," declared Lucius, ready to argue his case. "It's not a Compulsion. I love her. And she bloody well loves me even if she won't admit it."

"I know," said Draco, one corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk.

"You know?" Lucius was taken aback. He'd expected an argument, or at least a trace of surprise. "How can you possibly know?"

"Because Macnair's a complete idiot. I can't believe the man successfully ran a terrorist organization since the end of the war and never got caught before now," Draco said. "He doesn't have the sense of a Pygmy Puff. He left the book he used for the charm in one of the boxes of books Hermione bought for the shop."

"You've seen it? Examined it?"

Draco nodded, the smirk widening to a grin.

Lucius grinned back and grabbed him by the shoulders giving him a playful shake. "Tell me immediately, you little bastard, or I'll have to hex you."

"Hey, I have it on good authority I'm completely legitimate. My parents were married when I was born, and very much in love."

Lucius hesitated at Draco's words, Narcissa's shadow suddenly loomed between them. "I'm so sorry, son. I hadn't thought how this might affect you. I did love your mother, very much, you know. It's just that..."

Draco wrapped his hand around his father's wrist and squeezed in a gesture of affection. "I know, father. But she's been gone for a long time. You deserve to find love again." Draco dropped his hand and added with smile, "I am a little weirded out that it's with one of my best friends, but I suppose I'll manage to get over it."

"I'm glad for that, because if I have my way Hermione will be around for a very long time. So what charm was on the book?"

"It was Italian. _Tocco Vero Amore_."

"True Love's Touch," translated Lucius. "Just as I suspected. It's some kind of love recognition spell isn't it? It makes sense, since we both noticed the intense attraction to each other the first time we touched skin to skin. Instead of revealing a love at first sight, it's love recognition by touch. Have you been able to research it? Found its source?"

Draco nodded. "Yes, everything you said is pretty much spot on. And I think I've figured out why Macnair thought it was a Compulsion Charm. One source, probably the only one he bothered to check, describes the results of the spell as an undeniable attraction to the first touch after the charm's enactment. What that source failed to mention was the attraction was _only_ to the first touch of the victim's true love."

"Tell me about the charm. What is it's history?" Unlike Macnair, Lucius wanted to know as much as possible about the charm that had changed his life.

"The spell was first devised in the sixteenth century by a very romantic Italian Strega with seven daughters. She had good intentions, but it ended tragically."

"Hmm... yes, these things usually do," commented Lucius.

"Her eldest daughter had married happily and the witch wanted each of her other girls to find her own true love. As each of the daughters came of courting age the mother cast the 'True Love's Touch' spell on her. When the wizards came courting, they flirted and touched and danced and true love's touch found each girl her own true love time and time again. However, when it came time for the youngest daughter, the witch cast the spell but none of the young wizards who came to court her were the right one. Then at a village wedding, the girl danced with her oldest sister's husband. Remember, the oldest daughter hadn't used the spell to find her spouse, but when the sister and her brother-in-law touched during the dance the spell was triggered. They were soul mates, but he was already wed to her sister. The youngest daughter, realizing she would never have her own true love, became despondent and eventually threw herself into the river and drowned. The brother-in-law, who'd been quite happy in his marriage up until then, took to drinking and fell from his broom to his death one night in a drunken stupor. The oldest daughter ended up a widow, bitter and broken."

"Sad tale," muttered Lucius.

"Yes, well, probably a very good illustration as to why love spells, although they sound very romantic, are an extremely bad idea. It's pure coincidence and a miracle of fate that you and Hermione connected after she was exposed to the spell. If you hadn't found each other she might have gone all her life never finding happiness and love," said Draco.

"I do intend to make her very, very happy, Draco. But in order to do that I need to know where she is. I'm fairly sure she's hidden herself using the Fidelius charm. If you're her Secret Keeper you could help me with that."

Draco grimaced. "Sorry, I can't. I promised. Hermione takes issues of trust seriously."

Lucius nodded glumly. What Draco said was true, even more so after the debacle with Severus. "I can't win her back if I can't find her, son."

Draco just shrugged. "You're an intelligent man. You'll have to figure something out, father."

Lucius paced back and forth in the small space that wasn't covered by books. If Draco had arranged the safe house for Hermione it was probably one of the many Malfoy holdings. Chances were Draco would have chosen a place far away and little used. That narrowed the choices, but still not enough. Ren had admitted he was helping Hermione, bringing her food and books from the manor's library, but had also said that he had specific orders not to tell Lucius the location. But... Ren didn't have to tell him where it was to take him there.

"I'll need a copy of your research and findings, and that book as well."

Draco quickly produced the requested items and Lucius whirled and headed for the door.

"Leaving already, father?"

"I think I know how to find her. If this doesn't work, I'll be back to wring your scrawny neck, son."

Draco laughed. "I always thought I got my sense of humor from mother, but maybe you had something to do with it too."

Lucius looked at him grimly. "Who says I'm joking?"

Draco just laughed harder. "Good luck, father. I hope whatever you've figured out works."

Lucius arrived back at the manor and summoned Ren.

"You called Ren, master?"

"Yes, Ren. I'd like you to prepare a picnic basket with a nice lunch for two and bring it back here to the library." The elf disappeared and Lucius busied himself putting together a pile of several books about love spells and charms, knowing that Hermione would want to conduct her own research.

Ren returned with the picnic basket. He looked a little confused. "Should Ren be setting up your picnics here in the library, master?"

"No, Ren. I will be having the picnic with Miss Hermione. You will take me to where she is."

"Master, knows that Ren cannot be telling where Miss Hemione is being," said Ren cautiously, looking worried.

"I don't want you to tell me anything at all. You will follow the orders given by Master Draco. I don't need to know the name of the place. Just take me there with you."

The house-elf considered Lucius' request carefully for a few moments. His huge eyes rolled first to one side then to the other. He crossed his arms across his chest and stared at the ground, then scratched his head and looked at the ceiling. Finally he spoke, "I is being thinking that Master Draco only is telling Ren he is not to give the _name_ of Missy's secret place to the master. Master Draco is saying nothing about Ren not to be _taking_ the master there. So Ren will be taking you there as you asks, master."

Seconds later they arrived at the Villa San Malfoy. He hadn't been to this place in years, he'd forgotten how lovely it was. Lucius told Ren to set up the picnic in the garden and put it under a stasis charm, then return home.

Lucius set off in search of Hermione. He found her a few moments later, sun-bathing in a lounge chair next to a beautiful blue pool. She was wearing a Muggle swim-suit that was little more than a few scraps of fabric. Lucius found that he was quickly gaining an appreciation these days for many things Muggle. He heart ached as he admired his girl from the cool shadows of the house before stepping out into the Mediterranean sun to greet her.

"Hello, sweetheart."

She'd been dozing. She lifted her head and looked around, then jumped to her feet when she realized that he was really there and not a dream or an illusion. "Lucius!" she gasped, tossing on a lacy cover-up that really didn't cover up much of anything. "How did you find me? Did Draco..."

"No, he didn't give you away. I looked everywhere for you, Potter even helped me. When it seemed that you'd disappeared completely I figured out you must be hiding under a Fidelius Charm. Then it occurred to me the one friend I hadn't checked with was Draco. He wouldn't tell me where you were, and Ren was under orders not to tell me where you were either. Luckily, there were never any orders given not to bring me here with him." Lucius grinned at her. "Voilà, here I am."

"Lucius, you shouldn't have come," she said, the joy fading from her face. "Nothing's changed."

"Everything has changed, love."

Hermione looked sad. "No, it hasn't. I can still feel the Compulsion Charm." She took a few steps closer to him, but then forced herself to stop. "I want you so badly I ache."

Lucius smiled and reached out to touch her cheek. Unconsciously craving his touch, she leaned into his hand. "It's not compulsion, sweet, it's love. True love. I kept trying to tell you and everyone, but no one would listen to me. Draco's found the proof. Here." He produced the copies of Draco's research as well as the book. "That idiot Macnair didn't even bother to take the book out of the box when it was sent to your shop."

Hermione grabbed the papers and stepped back to drop onto the end of the lounge chair. She scanned them quickly. Lucius settled back in the chair, his legs straddling chaise as she continued to shuffle through the papers.

"Is this true?" she asked in disbelief. "_Tocco Vero Amore_? My Italian's a little rusty..."

"True Love's Touch. It's a recognition spell for true love through first touch. Remember that moment in the attic, when I disarmed you and sent your Patronus away?" Lucius pulled her back against his chest, his hand gently covering her mouth, reenacting that first touch. Then his hand slid down to caress her throat, holding her head pressed back to his shoulder as his thumb stroked lightly at her pulse point. "We both felt the attraction immediately. This is where it began, my love. But it wasn't a compulsion forced upon us, it was a recognition of what was within us. What we hadn't known until that very instant."

"Dear Merlin. Can it be true?" She twisted around to gaze into his eyes.

"Draco has documented all his research. I'm sure, knowing you, that you will want to confirm it all yourself. But could you possibly take pity on an old man and wait until tomorrow to start that, my dear? I've spent the last week searching for you and now I've brought a lovely picnic to share and I just want to hold you in my arms and love you."

Hermione pulled herself up to turn and straddle his lap. She wrapped her arms around Lucius' neck, threading her fingers through his hair, pulling him to her for a kiss. It started slow, a brush of her lips against his, then the tip of her tongue teasing him, a flick here, a tickle there, then it slipped between his lips to taunt his mouth. She was playing with fire and before long it consumed her as he took control and devoured her. When the kiss came to an end they were both breathless.

Hermione reached down and carefully stacked all the papers in a neat file and returned them to the folder in which Lucius had brought them. "I think the research can wait until tomorrow, or perhaps even the day after that. Until then I'm sure I'm going to be much too busy getting reacquainted with my own true love. I hope that picnic can wait awhile as well, because I think I'm hungry for something else entirely."

"Stasis charm," Lucius muttered as he swung Hermione up in his arms while he tried to recall the location of the villa's master suite. Oh well, if he remembered correctly there were six other bedrooms; if he didn't find it the first time they'd just have to keep trying.

Fin


End file.
